You get in life what you have the courage to ask for

A few weeks back, I entered in to one of the many Instagram contests I enter into on a daily basis, not thinking anything of it. A few days later I received an email from the host (Deep Fried Fit) that I had won a Eyelash Extensions from Amazing Lash Dallas along with some other great items. I was so freaking stoked! Despite entering hundreds of giveaways, this was my first time to actually win.

So like any humble winner, I thanked the host and began contacting all the companies to receive my items.

I was very intrigued about the eyelash extensions above everything and it really got me thinking. I had never even considered lash extensions but I have always loved the way false lashes widened and brightened my eyes. Would this be a good fit for me? I’m not exactly a girly girl. I take that back. I’m not at all a girly girl. I lost my hairbrush for a few weeks and never bothered to pick up a new one. I own a ton of makeup but I only do a full face maybe twice a month. Are extensions really for me?

Despite my reservations I went ahead and booked my appointment.

This is when my nerdy side kicked in. I research everything.

My brain pattern: Eyelash extensions? Sure! But then I thought… How do you improve your own lash health so you can grow your own beautiful lashes, naturally? Google!

From my research I learned:

Tip #1 – Don’t use waterproof mascara

Okay, this may be a little extreme. You’re thinking… but Heather what about when I go to the beach and I want to look like an uber hottie. Do so in moderation. If you do use waterproof mascara, make sure you stay sober enough to remember to wash your face at night. The chemical composition that makes your mascara waterproof is extremely drying to your lashes. What happens when your hair get’s dry and brittle? It falls out! Also, when you go to wash your face off, you tend to have to rub and rewash because that ish is resilient. In conclusion, don’t use it as a daily go-to. Save it for those special fresh-faced occasions or when tears are likely.

Tip #2 – Loosen up the ninja death grip on your curler

I feel like this one is a given, but worth mentioning. When you are using your curler be sure you are holding it when a very steady hand. It’s super easy to accidentally start pulling the tool away before you have completely loosened the grip on your lashes. Let it loose or your curler my take all your lashes with it. Ouch. Try to limit your hold to between 10-20 seconds so you’re not overdoing it.

Tip #3 – Take a multi-vitamin that supports healthy hair growth

Vitamins such as Vitamin B, C, and E, Biotin, Niacin, along with many others help promote hair growth as well as improves the quality of the hair that is coming in. One thing that many people don’t consider as well is improving their gut health. I personally have something called leaky gut syndrome. This causes malabsorption of vitamins, even if I am taking them. If you feel like you have a relatively healthy diet or are not seeing any benefits to taking vitamins, it might be worth looking into improving your gut health. Some of the supplements I take for this are L-Glutamine, Digestive Enzymes, and Probiotics. I am not a doctor though, so if this sounds familiar, it might be worth asking for the blood work ;).

Tip #4 – Don’t wear old makeup

Most mascaras have an antimicrobial agent in them to help prevent bacteria from building up and giving your gross eye infections. This agent only stays active for between 3-6 months, so once you’ve reached that point, throw that bad boy out. Eye infections = rubbing eyes = losing lashes.

Tip # 5 – Find a good eyelash conditioner

Just like your hair needs to be conditioned, your lashes can use the moisture too. Lash conditioner generally contains keratin or biotin to help strengthen and moisturize your lashes. Conditioner is not something to look for to stimulate the growth of new lashes but rather helps to extend the longevity of your lashes. Also similar to the hair on our head, lashes naturally fall out and grows back. The less hair that is falling out while new hairs are growing back… the fuller your lashes will be.

Then there are people like me and others who have zero patience and want a quick fix. So in came the extensions.

My thoughts:

The experience itself went very well. I showed up to Amazing Lash Studio at Firewheel mall and was taken back immediately. The artist.. stylist.. (not sure what they are called) who did my lashes was very polite and helpful in assisting me to choose a style. Apparently when you go you should know the following things:

Length of lashes

Style of lashes

Color of lashes

I was so caught up in the though of growing out my lashes that I didn’t bother researching what you should know for the extensions. Oops. But now I know…

In the above photo I am wearing a size 12 extension in the “Gorgeous” style in black.

After they were finished, I was a little overwhelmed with how long they were. I didn’t consider the fact that I wasn’t wearing any makeup though. When I got home and put on my makeup for the night they looked awesome!

Day 2 wearing them was even better. The first 48 hours you have them in you aren’t supposed to let them get wet so I had slept in my eye makeup. That morning when I woke up I literally crawled out of my bed and started my day. The lashes were still on fleek and I felt gorgeous.

All in all I am happy with how they turned out. If I decide to get them redone I will probably tone it down to a size 8 or 9.

What tricks have you used to grow out your luscious lashes? Let me know in the comments below!

Setting goals is pretty easy. Actually achieving them, not so much. Here are 9 of the tips I’ve implemented to help me achieve my goals.

Image Source : PSY Blog

Hold yourself accountable by telling others about your goals

Sometimes telling yourself you’re going to do something isn’t enough. It helps to feel that sense of pride that you’re going to accomplish people when you tell your friends and family about it. Maybe you can even start a blog about it. For example if you are wanting to eat a healthier diet this year you could start a blog sharing the recipes and meal plans you are using in order to keep yourself motivated to keep going. When it feels like you are trying to prove yourself it will help push you along.

Break it down into smaller steps

When you set yourself goals they are usually the end all to where you want to get in a certain area. For example I want to be pretty proficient at playing piano by the end of the year. It’s overwhelming to think of how I am going to get there. It obviously isn’t just going to magically come to me over night. (That’d be awesome if it did) In order to make your goals seem more attainable you need to break them down into smaller, more easily reachable, goals. I found a great free printable that helps you break down your goals like this here. A good example of this for my goal would be to have my main goal as learning to become awesome at piano. My small goals to get me there would be to learn a new song in one month’s time, practice reading sheet music 3x a week for 30 minutes, and learn some of the basic chords within 2 months.

Make it a SMART goal

SMART can be broken down into 5 parts. Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Timely. You can improve the wording of your goals by making sure it hits all five of the points. Say your Goal is to get in better shape. That’s a pretty broad statement. How would you determine if you actually reached your goal? Would you congratulate yourself too early just to be done with it? A better way to write it out would be to say you would like to reduce your body fat by 5% by the end of the year. That goal hits all of the 5 parts. You are saying exactly what you wish to achieve, what amount, and when you want it done by. As far as it being attainable and relevant you just have to think to yourself, is this logically possible? Yes, yes it is. Is this relevant to what I want to happen in my life? Abso-friggin-lutely.

Be passionate about it

Your goals should be something that you want for yourself. Don’t make goals that you don’t have a fire in your belly to actually achieve. Does someone else think you don’t read enough? Does it matter what they think? If you don’t like reading then don’t make it a priority in your life to read 2 books a month. You won’t enjoy doing it and it will make goals a horrible chore for you. Find goals that you will crave to work on. Things that you’ll be excited to complete.

Visualize the benefits

What will you get out of completing your goals? Are you saving up money for a trip to the beach? Every time you get a craving to go to McDonald’s (maybe that’s just me, insert your vice if not) visualize the beach you could be laying on if you just save up that $3 a day instead. If visual stimulation is a motivator for you, draw up a board showing what you will get if you achieve your goals. Want a big ol’ booty? Find a motivating photo to remind yourself why leg day seems to never end.

Write it where you’ll see it often

The more you are reminded of it the more likely you will do it. Life can get extremely busy but that isn’t an excuse to not work on what you want for yourself. You should always be able to find a few minutes in your day to work towards improving yourself. Write post-it note reminders around your house or on your desk, write it on a white board in your office, print it out on a paper that’s taped to your mirror. Whatever makes sense as a daily reminder, do it.

Schedule tasks on your calendar

In planning out my goals I noticed the insane amount of apps that there are just for scheduling and calendars. Download one of those and use it. I personally like the Tasks Free app for android. I write out my small easy to reach tasks into the lists, schedule a time and reminder and it’s done. Then when the time comes you get a nice little phone reminder. No more excuses that you forgot. This also really helps you to plan out your day because it is a visual representation of what needs to be done and how much time you can allot for each task.

Review yourself weekly

In saying this I mean review your progress, not your results. If you are trying to lose weight, look back at what efforts you have made for the week instead of constantly checking the scale. When you see that you are putting in the work you will feel accomplished whether you’ve lost the weight yet or not. That sense of accomplishment is a wave that will take you far. If your goal is to read a book every two weeks review the amount of time you put into reading. If you aren’t putting in enough time to accomplish your goal by your deadline then make the necessary adjustments that will get you to where you want to be.

I started off like most others stating to T what my New Years Resolutions would be for the year but after thinking about it I realized I didn’t know what the hell resolution actually meant. So I looked it up.

A resolution is the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc. I don’t really feel that I have any lingering problems that need resolving (other than mental ones) so we decided to call them our New Year goals instead. I feel like it sounds slightly more ambitious and this is going to be my year of personal awakening so I felt it was more appropriate.

Isn’t every year that year though. Really though guys. I can’t believe I’m already 27 and don’t feel like I’ve marked much off my accomplishments or bucket list. This is going to be the year. I’ve already started it off strong! Which leads me to the goals.

Goals I hope to am going to accomplish this year

Blogging
That’s right bitches, I’m back.
My main (task) here is to write more consistently and more like myself, more my personality. Kind of a reflection of all of the wild things I think and usually will say. Except more videos and photos because I like those better than words sometimes. And sometimes they’re necessary.
3x per week? We’ll get there but for now I’m not trying to be too ambitious because I have school starting soon.
Learn more about the blogging world, how to maneuver in it, make friends and be awesome. Like with widgets and stuff.

SchoolThis may be a terrible mistake that I’m going to regret financially but I have decided I’d like to go back to school to get my degree in computer science. On the plus side I will be the only female in the program and there are a lot of scholarships available that no one else is applying for. I’m also taking some composition classes because I’m hoping they will improve my thought process so when I speak I make a little more sense to other people.

Hooray Adult Students (no this isn’t me but I guess I kind of look like that but with much flatter, lighter hair. Oh and tattoos.)

PianoI have been trying for YEARS to learn piano but it just doesn’t ever seem to stick. I want to pay for private lessons but I can’t seem to find anyone reasonably priced. So I’m turning to you, YouTube. Please don’t fail me. I’d like to average at LEAST learning a song a month and by the end of the year I’d like to be able to read sheet music fairly well.

Be HealthyThis is kind of a generic goal but I just want to be generally healthy so it’s fitting. The main (tasks) are to

Eat dinner at home 5x a week. If you are curious what I’m eating these days because that’s a normal thing to want to know you can see my weekly updated meal plan here. (Note: It’s mostly Paleo. If you haven’t tried it you should give it a chance. It will make you feel awesome.)

Bring lunch 4x a week (I’m rocking at these two so far, guys)

Workout 3x a week (Not so much this one)

Make More MoneyReally though, who isn’t trying to do this? My attack plan is to start up a little side gig which is TBD and make more money at my full time gig. Other opportunities I’d like to take on are selling all of my extra junk. I’m kind of a recovering hoarder, but not in the old food and cats in the closet kind of way. Also on the money front is better budgeting. It’s not making more money per-say but making better use of the money I already have.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a brunch snob. Not in the worst way possible. I get it from my mom. It is my guilty pleasure, beyond McDonald’s. Perhaps McDonald’s is the reason I have my weekend brunch cravings. Let me clear this up.

I like to eat relatively healthy but on the other hand I have McDonald’s for breakfast every week day. I kid you not. Burrito, sweet tea, and hot apple pie. They know me by name there. This has been going on just about as long as my desire for a weekend brunch. Enough rambling, on to the good stuff.

Top 4 Brunch Spots Around Dallas

(according to me and in no specific order)

BuzzBrew’s Kitchen – If you’ve never been to BuzzBrew’s, you’re in for a real treat. BB is open 24-hours a day 7 days a week and truly caters to the drunk and hungover crowd. A favorite hangover cure of mine is their Chicken San Miguel. It is a juicy chicken plate topped with eggs, mozzarella cheese, onion, tomatillo sauce, and crispy tortilla strips served with a side of re fried black beans (amazing) and griddle tomatoes. The real sweet deal about BB; they have three locations spread across Dallas. Lemmon, Central and Deep Ellum. Seating in all locations seems to be decent, the chairs aren’t too comfortable but the wait isn’t too long. Their prices are very reasonable; probably one of the cheapest brunch spots I hit. Most breakfast meals will run you right around $9

Dream Cafe – This was a recent discovery of mine. My mother and I went here a few weekends ago on a whim and were overwhelmed. My favorite part about Dream Cafe is that they are dog friendly! They have a lovely patio for outdoor seating but also a small amount of seating indoors for those not willing to bask in Texas heat. I ordered the Sunny Side: Granola-Crusted French Toast with fresh strawberries and crème fraiche and dusted with powdered sugar. Wow is all I can say. The combination of all of the flavors on this toast was to die for. It was crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside, all acting as a bed for fresh sweet strawberry’s and creamy goodness. The meal also came with a side of 2 eggs (cooked perfectly), bacon (yum), and pork sausage(meh) ringing up at around $12. They have two locations; Addison and Uptown.

Bread Winner’s Cafe – Bread winner’s gets the gold for me for two things and two things alone. The Brunch Punch and their selection of Egg Benedict’s. The Brunch Punch is their twist on the mimosa. Instead of mixing their champagne with orange juice, the combine it with cranberry juice and St. Germain. They do hold true to their name however. A ticket between T and I run us $60 for two plates and two drinks. Ouch. You can find their wonderful selections at multiple locations including East Plano, Uptown, Northpark, and Inwood Village

Short Rib Hash from Oddfellow’s

Oddfellows – Oddfellow’s may be my favorite (but don’t tell the others.) If you are looking for an eclectic selection this will be your best bet. I have yet to try anything I didn’t love. The pancakes are extra fluffy, the Short Rib Hash is juicy and well seasoned and their benedict is always perfectly cooked to a yolky perfection. Prices here are decent. A meal will run you between $10-$20 depending on your taste. My one big tip for you: get their early. The noon brunch wait is a b*tch.

Who couldn’t use a little help being a better partner to their significant other?

Pages in, I was hooked. If you are having problems connecting, not feeling loved, or at a means to an end in thinking your relationship is doomed, give this book a try. Who am I kidding, everyone should give it a read, even if your relationship is flourishing. Relationships are hard work and you should always be looking for ways to make them more fulfilling.

Gary Chapman discusses the concept of what he calls your “love tank”. He goes into how full your love tank is as playing an essential role to the success of your relationship. Let me explain further.

There are 5 Love Languages:
Words of Affirmation -“You are such a great provider.”
Acts of Service – “Let me do the dishes for you. You look exhausted.”
Receiving Gifts – “I found this while I was out and it made me think of you.”
Quality Time – “Let’s leave our phones at home and go on a walk, just us.”
Physical Touch – “Could I hold your hand while we walk?”

Everyone feels love in a different way. Even if the examples above are not your “dialect” of one of the 5 languages, you still are likely to feel them in some form or fashion. You may even have two languages, like I do!

Personal Experience

What makes me feel the most loved is quality time and physical touch. This means that when my boyfriend (T) puts down his phone, turns off his xBox and focuses all of his attention on me, I feel overcome with emotion and my love tank fills up fast! Even if it is only for 15-30 minutes a day, it really makes a difference.

My second language is physical touch. Just like I am with quality time, small gentle touches play a vital role to my feeling loved. It can be something as simple as a hand briefly placed on my shoulder while I’m doing dishes or a kiss on my forehead when I’m ill.

The idea behind 5LL though is not to focus on how you will feel the most loved but how it affects your significant other. Are you loving them in their language? Do you know which one they are?

“Love is something you do for someone else, not something you do for yourself.”

I was surprised to find that I was wrong about which one T was. I always thought word’s of affirmation would be his but it ended up being act’s of service. The best way to identify it is to ask your partner what their vision of a perfect partner would be like to them. If they say it is someone that will bring them sweet thoughtful gifts and love notes in their lunches, you know their language is receiving gifts. You can break each answer down into one of the categories.

Chapman goes into further detail on each of the languages and ideas on how to show your significant other love in their language, even if it doesn’t come naturally to you. He also has a chapter that outlines an idea on what to do if you are on the verge of breaking up or filing for divorce. It would seem if there was once love that it can be nourished back to a healthy state.

If you would like to learn more, you can take the quiz with your partner here to find out what your language is or purchase the book here.

Disclaimer- I did not receive monetary compensation for this review. All reviews represent the opinion of 20 Something Syndrome based on personal opinion.

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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Disclaimer-*Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”